Sole construction for apparel shoes



June 30, 1931; J. w. LAKE ET AL 1,812,490

SOLE CONSTRUCTION FOR APPAREL SHOES Original Filed May '7, 1928 JOHN 14/. LA Kc. WALL/AM T F/N/(J.

Patented June 30, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- J'OHN W. LAKE AND WILLIAM T. FINKS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO CAMPELLO SHAN K COMPANY, OF CAMPELLO, MASSACHUSETTS SOLE CONSTRUCTION FOR APPAREL SHOES Application filed May 7, 1928, Serial This invention relates generally to apparel shoes, and more specifically to an improved sole construction therefor, the'predominant object of the invention being to secure the fibre-board, which ordinarily forms a part of the sole construction of a shoe of a certain type, to the insole of the shoe in a manner to provide a pocket in which the arch shank of the shoe is arranged, whereby the manufacture of the shoe is simplified and said shoe is made more durable.

Many shoes, and particularly ladies shoes of the French or high heel type, are provided with an element which forms a part of the sole construction thereof, which is known as the fibre-board. This element, which is mtended to give additional stifi'ness to the arch portion of the shoe, is made from material which is relatively tough and stifl when compared with the material from which the insole of the shoe is formed, and ordinarily said element extends from the approximate rear edge of the heel portion of the shoe to the portion of the sole known as the break,

or in other words, the curved line at which the ground contacting portion of the outsole joins the upwardly curved shank portion of said outsole. Heretofore, the fibre-boards referred to were unattached to the insoles of the shoes prior to the time said insoles were tacked to the lasts on which the shoes were to be constructed, and the arch shanks heretofore were merely loosel interposed between the insoles and the fi re-boards before these parts were attached together by being tacked to the lasts. As a result of this arrangement, the task of attaching an insole with its associated elements to a last was ren, dered quite difiicult and was caused to consume more time than desirable due to the fact that the operator had to handle and manipulate three separate pieces of material.

In accordance with the present invention, the fibre-board is stitched or otherwise se cured directly to the insole before said insole is attached to the last, said fibre-board being secured to said insole in such manner that a pocket is formed between the insole and the fibre-board, in which ocket the arch shank 69 of the shoe is located, w ereby said arch shank No. 275,584. Renewed Kay 5, 1931.

improved unitary sole construction showing v an insole, a fibre-board, and an arch shank in permanent association with each other;

Figure 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section showing a shoe constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 3 illustrates a modified form of the invention.

In the drawings, which illustrate one embodiment merely of the invention, A designates a ladys shoe (Fig. 2) constructed in accordance with the present invention, said shoe comprising an outsole B and upper portions C. 1 deslgnates the insole of the shoe A which insole, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, is split longitudinally, said split portion being extended forwardly from the edge of the rear or heel portion of the insole to a point forward of the front edge of the heel E of the shoe. The split heel portion of the insole 1 provides said insole at this point with a lower flap portion 2 and an upper flap portion 3, which flap portions are integrally connected together at their inner ends. While we prefer to provide the insole of our improved shoe construction with the flap portions 2 and 3 by splitting the insole longitudinally, it

is obvious that one or the other of said flap portions ma be separate and may be secured to the associated flap portion in any suitable manner.

The reference numeral 4 designates the fibre-board of'our improved shoeconstruction, said fibre-board being of a shape which corresponds approximately with the shape of the rear portion of the insole 1. The fibreboard 4 is arranged in contact with the lower face of the insole of the shoe, as shown in Fig.

2, said fibre-board being of such dimensions that its side edges and its rear edge are spaced inwardly a slight distance from the corresponding side and rear edges of the associated insole, and said fibre-board extends.

lel with the forward portions of side marginal edges and of the front edge of said fibre-board, as shown in Fig. 1. The stitches 5 terminate some distance short of the rear portions of the fibre-board and the insole, so that said rear portion of the fibre-board is unattached to the insole, and hence may be separated therefrom to permit access to the pocket formed between said fibre-board and said insole.

The reference numeral 6 designates the arch shank of our improved shoe construction, said arch shank being formed of any suitable material and having a relatively narrow forward portion 6a and a rear or heel portion 6?) which is of approximately the same shape as the rear or heel portion of the insole 1 and fibre-board 4 (Fig. 1). The arch shank 6 is introduced into the pocket formed between the insole and the fibre-board by lifting the rear portion of said fibre-board and .moving the portion 6a of said arch shank longitudinally of said pocket until movement of the arch shank is arrested by the closed forward end of the pocket. When the arch shank has been arranged in the pocket as described, the enlarged heel portion thereof will be positioned properly with respect to the heel portions of the insole 1 and fibreboard 4, as shown in Fig. 1. It is obvious,

in view of this arrangement of the insole,

fibre-board, and arch shank, that a unitary sole construction is produced which permits of said elements being handled as a unit, and because of this unitary construction, the task of temporarily securing the insole, fibreboard, and arch shank to the last is greatly simplified, this simplification of said task resulting from the fact that it is not necessary for the operator to handle and manipulate three separate elements, as was the case prior to this invention.

In the manufacture of a shoe in accordance with our invention, the insole, with its associated elements, and the upper portions C, are secured to the last in the usual manner. The outsole is then arranged in place on the last, and the outsole, insole, and upper portion at the toe of the shoe are stitched or otherwise secured together in the ordinary manner.

The outsole, insole, and heel portion of the upper are also secured together in the usual manner by tacks which are driven from the outside of the shoe through the outsole and insole and in-turned portion of the heel portion of the upper, but the tacks used for securing these portions together are of such length that they will pass only through the lower flap 2 of the insole and will not extend into the upper flap portion 3 thereof.

When the outsole, insole and upper portions of the shoe have been secured together as described, the heel E-will' be arranged in place on the shoe, and when the upper flap portion 3 of the insole has been moved upwardly to the position in which it is shown by-dotted lines in'Fig. 2, nails orotherfastening devices 7 will be driven from the inside" of the shoe through the lower flap 2 of-the insole 1 through apertures 8 in the heel portion of the arch shank 6 and through the fibre-board 4 and the outsole B into the heel E whereby said heel will be secured in place. The apertures 8 may be located by passing a sharp-pointed instrument, such as an awl, from beneath through said apertures and through the lower flap 2. After the fastening devices 7 have been driven into the heel as described, the upper flap portion 3 of the insole 1 will be moved downwardly to its normal position in contact with the up er face of the lower flap 2, and said upper ap portion will then be cemented or otherwise secured in this position. It is obvious when the upper flap portion 3 has been secured in its normal position as described, that said upper flap portion will effectively cover the heads of the fastening devices 7 and will also function as a cushion between the heel por-. tion of the arch shank and the heel of the wearer of the shoe.

Due to the fact that the arch shank of our improved shoe structure extends to therear end of the shoe instead of terminating adjacent to the front edge of the heelyas was usually the case heretofore, and also because shoe is given additional strength where needed by our improved construction, still the desired flexibility of the shoe at the arch portion thereof is not interfered with. The fact that the arch shank of our improved shoe construction is located within a pocket formed on the insole results in said arch shank being maintained'in its proper position maybe had to the interior of the pocket greatly to the durability of the shoe.

' with respect to the other elements of the sole formed thereby construction at all times, and, this adds In testimony whereof, we have hereunto setjour hands.

In Fig. 3, we show a modified form of'our invention in accordance with which the insole 1' has fixed to it a fibre-board''. The fibre-board4 is secured to the insole 1 by means of rows of stitches 5' which pass through said fibre-board and said insole and are arranged parallel with the opposite side edges of the fibre-board at the forward portion thereof. In the construction shown in Fig. 3, the fibre-board 4 is not stitched to the insole along the forward edge of said fibreboard, as is the casein the preferred constructhe insole and the fibre-board by lifting the rear portion of the fibre-board and moving the forward portion of the arch shank longitudinally of said pocket. t

While we describe the fibre-board 4 as being secured to the insole 1 of the shoe to provide same with a pocket to receive the arch shank, it is obvious that said fibre-board may be secured to the inner face of the outsole'B,

and also we, if desired, may secure the fibreboard 4 to the inner face of the insole 1 instead of the outer face thereof, as described.

We claim:

- 1. An apparel shoe comprisin an outsole, an insole, a fibre-board secure to said into provide a pocket, an arch shank located within said pocket, and a heel, said insole having separable portions arranged one above the other at the heel portion thereof, and fastening devices extended through the lowermost of said separable portions of said insole through said arch shank and fibre-board and through said outsole into said heel.

2. An apparel shoe comprising an outsole, an insole, a fibre-board secured to said insole to provide a pocket, an arch shank located within said pocket, a heel, said insole having separable portions arranged one above the other at the heel ortion thereof, and fastening devices exten ed through the lowermost of said separable portions of said insole through said arch shank and fibreboard and through said outsole into said heel, the uppermost of said se arable portions of said insole being adapte to cover the head portions of said fastening devices.

3. An apparel shoe comprising an outsole, an insole, a fibre-board secured to said insole to provide a pocket, and. an arch shank located within saidpocket, said fibre-hoard being stitched to said insole along'its forward edge and along the forward portions of its opposite side edges and being unattached to said insole at its rear portion, whereby access JOHN W. LAKE.

WILLIAM T. FINKS. 

